Haunted Houses

by Bernhardt J. Hurwood and Larry Kettelkamp

Book Overview

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0590450190
• Release Date: January 1972
• Publisher: Scholastic
• Weight: 0.18 lbs.

Customer Reviews

25 satisfyingly spooky hauntings

"Haunted Houses" is a 126-page anthology of 25 supernatural tales published by Scholastic Book Services. The stories are told as true, each with its unique historical and geographical background, mainly in the British Isles. Each is also embellished with details from the author's vivid imagination: "There were whole suckling pigs, stuffed pheasants, thrush pies, and venison roasts. These and other mouth-watering dishes were spread out on handwoven linen tablecloths and served on gold and silver plates. As for the kegs of ale and crystal decanters of wines and brandies, their contents too were served in goblets of silver and gold." In the same story, we also have "...two, hideous grinning skulls. They were incredibly filthy looking--covered with green mold, vermin crawling from the eye sockets, and matted with wild, maggot-infested hair." It's definitely enough to take away your appetite, in spite of the gorgeous table settings. The ghosts in this book are not silent. They scream, cackle maniacally, utter terrible curses and grim prophecies, and hammer away in the basement. They emerge from locked closets, attics, gigantic coffins, and coaches drawn by headless horses. They stalk grimly into wedding feasts, and give off horrible stenches. (This author scatters adjectives and adverbs with a lavish hand.) The 25 stories are: "The Legend of the Screaming Skulls)," "The Lady in the Closet," "Silky," "The Phantom of Jedburgh Castle," "The Ghosts of the Boleyns," "The Mystery House of Horror," "The Phantom Redhead of the Old Parish Jail," "The Ghost with the Missing Shoe," "The MacKenzie Ghosts," "The House of the Lonely Ghosts," "The Room of the Murderous Phantoms," "The Invasion of the Fox Spirits," "Horror by the Sea," "The Coffin in the Empty Room," "The Tragic Ghost of Cambridge University," "The Noisy Ghost of Barbey," "The House with the Living Ghost," "The Little Weeping Ghost," "The Unsolved Mystery," "The Screaming Skull of Belliscombe House," "The Ghostly Party," "The Curse of Mouse Tower," "The Ghostly Beautician," "The Cold Dead Hand," "The Ghost of Powis Castle," "The Four-Legged Ghosts of Ballechin House," "A Blood-drinking Ghost," and "The Girl with the Beckoning Eyes." Most of the tales are satisfyingly spooky, although a few have happy endings.

Spook Factor - Very High

The sad fact, this is an out of print book. I'm actually lucky enough to own a copy of the book. It is very scary to read because your imagination runs wild when your done reading one of the stories. This book might be hard to come by, but if you're lucky enough, get one, and put on the coffee, it might be hard to sleep for a while!